Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments

Here are six fictional stories about Americans colliding with a remote and often perilous part of the world:

Two journalists, stranded in wartime Afghanistan, are taken in by a warlord who becomes the arbiter of their fates.

A female scientist investigating the Aral Sea disaster is drawn into a trap by a former KGB officer.

On a hike through Kazakhstan, Jayne and Douglas’s marriage unravels when their guide, a veteran of the Soviet-Afghanistan war, takes an unseemly interest in Jayne.

The son of an American ambassador addicted to the seamy underside of a Central Asian city finally gets in over his head.

In the Pushcart Prize–winning title story, a tortured missionary struggles to reconcile his sexual urges with his faith.

A young man just back from a long stint in Kyrgyz-stan finds his relationship with his fiancée all but destroyed.

Sometimes hilarious, sometimes tragic, but always eerily affecting, these stories show us deeply foreign lands and peoples through our own eyes. Impressive in both range and emotional acuity, God Lives in St. Petersburg is a stunning fictional debut by a “wildly talented” (Outside) young writer.

From the Hardcover edition.

Synopsis

Young Americans abroad in Central Asia find themselves pushed to their limits in these acclaimed, prize-winning stories by one of our most exciting and talented new authors. Combining bleak humor, ironic insight, deep compassion, and unflinching moral and ethical inquiry, Tom Bissell gives us a gripping collection that is both timeless and profoundly relevant to todays complex world.

About the Author

Tom Bissell is the author of Chasing the Sea (available in paperback from Vintage Books) and contributes to Harpers Magazine, The Believer, and other publications. He lives in New York.